


When It's All Over

by orphan_account



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Bodyswap, Bullying, Dubious Consent, Epilogue, Homophobic Language, M/M, Masturbation, Role Reversal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-08
Updated: 2016-03-11
Packaged: 2018-01-24 01:28:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1586636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The irony of the school’s football captain and shyest wallflower switching bodies was not exactly lost on Peeta.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peeta and Cato go through a change.

“Stop touching my body,” Cato growled, sounding far less menacing when he was speaking with Peeta’s soft voice. His scowl didn’t look particularly threatening when he had Peeta’s face either so really, the whole thing was just making Peeta laugh.

Neither of the boys knew exactly how they had switched bodies but the irony of the school’s football captain and shyest wallflower was not exactly lost on Peeta. It was like something straight out of a trashy movie or book and he was getting endless enjoyment out of watching the other boy squirm. Cato was usually in charge of every situation but right now, neither of them knew what they were doing and it wasn’t like Cato was in a body that could beat him up any longer so Peeta wasn’t that worried about laughing at him.

“I wasn’t touching,” Peeta replied innocently, letting the vest top drop back down to cover the abs he had been admiring in the bathroom mirror, “I was staring.” The smug smirk he fired in Cato’s direction was one he knew this body had perfected a long time ago because he’d seen the other boy wear it so often. Truth be told, Peeta had noticed a lot of things about Cato against his better judgment. He knew that having a crush on his tormentor was a terrible idea but he couldn’t help it, Cato was easily the hottest guy at their school and everybody knew it. Just the way he carried himself was so attractive and that wasn’t even mentioning his hard muscles or perfect hair or… Yeah, there were a lot of reasons Peeta had a crush on Cato and approximately none of them were his personality. Cato was easily the most terrible person Peeta had ever met – arrogant, ignorant and so _so_ dumb.

Things were different now though – the one thing Peeta liked about Cato, _he_ now had. It was enough to make him feel a lot more confident than he usually did.

It had been a simple collision in the hallway that had caused their predicament. It was an accidental bump, not even Cato deliberately bashing Peeta into lockers like he had done so many times before, but a total accident and this whole thing had happened. There was no rational reason for it to happen and yet they were undeniably in each other’s bodies.

“Well stop staring. That’s _my_ body,” Cato snapped, his temper clearly rising with every passing second that he was separated from his precious body. Peeta had heard rumors about Cato’s dedication to his diet and his fitness regime, how he treated his body like a temple and right now Cato’s temple had been taken away from him. He knew it was bad and he was lowering himself to Cato’s level but Peeta felt a little smug to be the one who had made him feel like that. Cato had made him feel anxious and terrified for years and now the other boy was finally getting some of it in return by pure chance.

Peeta had to thank whatever higher power was currently watching over him for having a sense of humor.

“How we gonna fix this?” was the next grunt out of Cato’s mouth and all Peeta could do was wrinkle in disgust at how rough and uneducated the other boy made him sound. He liked to pride himself on being well-spoken and Cato was anything but. Peeta would be worried about Cato ruining his reputation as a capable speaker of the English language but it wasn’t like Peeta had any friends for Cato to embarrass him in front of him so he really wasn’t. Cato, on the other hand, had a _lot_ of friends and at some point Peeta was going to have to face them and pretend to be the oafish bully he had resentfully watched for so long. The idea filled him with nerves, the familiar terror of talking with strangers creeping up his spine like it always did when he was forced into an unwanted social environment. He didn’t tell Cato that though, he wasn’t prepared to give the other male more ammunition to use against him.

Instead Peeta just let out a long sigh, shrugged his surprisingly broad shoulders and said in a voice he was still getting used to, “I dunno.” He knew he was the one who was supposed to have the answers here – he was the only one with a working brain after all – but the simple truth was that he had no idea how to ‘fix this’ or what had even happened to them. Cato had already accused him of doing this on purpose but Peeta had shot down the idea straight away because he didn’t nearly have enough nerves to pull a stunt like that on his number one bully. What if it had gone wrong? He’d probably have ended up covered in bruises and dropped headfirst into the school dumpster. No, he’d never have risked it in a million years. There was something else going on and the sooner they worked it out, the happier Cato would be.

Then again, it wasn’t like Cato’s happiness was something Peeta particularly cared about.

“Did you cast a spell?” Cato demanded suddenly. Peeta found himself laughing involuntarily again because somehow it was even crazier than Cato’s earlier suggestion of a super hi-tech body swap device. Wherever Cato was getting these ideas from, Peeta was pretty sure it wasn’t a place of logic.

“Yes and I made sure to drop my voodoo doll of you in a cauldron too,” he fired back in response, rolling his eyes at the other boy. “As hard as it is for you to accept, I didn’t do this.” Usually Peeta wouldn’t have the confidence to speak to Cato like this because he’d probably get his head bashed in but the change in their sizes and strengths made him feel a lot better about his chances in a fair fight with the other boy. He was at least a head taller than his own body and his arms were pretty much the size of watermelons in this body, a long shot from his own stick-thin limbs. Yeah, it would probably be a very short fight.

Cato just grumbled to himself, his back mood sinking even further as Peeta just watched. He didn’t know what to say or if he even should say anything because he was pretty sure _‘hey, real sorry we randomly switched bodies’_ was not going to cut it.

Of course, that would be the opportune moment for the school bell to ring, meaning the lunch break was over and they still had another class to get to. Peeta’s heart sank like a stone. He wasn’t ready for that at all. The only relief – strangely enough, as Peeta would have never considered it so beforehand – was that their next class was together so they could keep an eye on one another.

“We should skip,” Cato declared suddenly.

Peeta whirled around on the spot, his eyes narrowed into a defiant glare. “You’re not ruining my perfect attendance record. We’re going to class!” he snapped, surprising himself with his strict tone. Cato glared at him as he walked past and left the bathroom but Peeta didn’t mind. For now, there really wasn’t much Cato could do to hurt him.

He had barely stepped out of the bathroom when he was suddenly ambushed by two jocks, one coming at him from either side. Peeta’s immediate action was to flinch before he realized they weren’t about to attack him as they usually did. They thought he was one of their own, their _leader_ in fact, they would never do anything to hurt him while he looked like this.

Ahead of them, Cato turned around and glared at him. Peeta couldn’t help but smirk in return.

Thresh, one of the jocks with his arm around Peeta’s shoulder, spoke first: “Haven’t seen you all lunch. Where you been?” On Peeta’s other side, Marvel nodded eagerly as he waited for a response. It was the first test Peeta would face in this body and he knew he couldn’t freeze up.

“Did some reps by myself,” he blurted out in a voice he hoped was casual enough that they didn’t see through his total lie. They seemed satisfied with the answer though and Peeta just let out a breath of relief as Marvel gave him a pat on the back and said in a slow voice, “Next time tell me! Need to do arms.” Having spared a quick glance at Marvel’s arms, Peeta wasn’t sure he agreed because they were pretty huge already but he wasn’t going to argue and raise unnecessary suspicion.

The boys made their way in the class and Peeta’s smirk faltered slightly when he saw Cato sat at the back of the room right in the middle of the jock’s usual row, only he was in Peeta’s very much non-jock body. Either side of him, Peeta heard a sharp intake of breath and suddenly there were eyes on him. He knew he had to say something but what?

 Advancing on the table Cato was sat at, Peeta looked down at him with what he hoped was an unpleasant face and sneered in his best Cato impression, “Get outta my chair, dweeb.” The surprised and slightly horrified look Cato gave him was enough to make Thresh and Marvel laugh but Peeta wasn’t laughing. Not only was he trying to keep up the tough guy act that definitely didn’t come naturally to him but he just didn’t enjoy being horrible to people, even somebody who had been horrible to him previously. He just wanted Cato to move so he could go on ignoring the other boy for a bit before they found a way back into their own bodies.

“Well?” he added, his voice deepening into a low growl. It seemed to do the trick as Cato miserably grabbed his stuff and scampered to Peeta’s usual seat at the front of the room.

As they took their places at the back of the class, the jocks either side of Peeta were still laughing about it. “Who does that nerd think he is?” Marvel asked loudly, specifically so Cato could hear him. He had no idea that he was actually talking about his best friend and that filled Peeta with enough satisfaction to reply simply, “Me.” Even though Cato wasn’t facing him, Peeta knew he was cursing under his breath. Peeta only felt  _slightly_ guilty.

The rest of the lesson wasn’t without incident though. The teacher asked an easy question that Peeta knew the answer to so he instinctively put his hand up. It was only when he noticed that everybody was staring at him that he realized his mistake. Cato had never answered a question in class unless specifically asked by a teacher and even then, it was never the correct answer. So, in an attempt to imitate Cato’s usual attitude, Peeta just blurted the most ridiculous and borderline offensive thing he could. Much to his relief everybody laughed except the teacher and Cato. Feeling a little bit sheepish, Peeta made a point to not raise his hand again.

After class, Peeta didn’t get another chance to talk to Cato until they were physically walking out of school and getting lost in the crowd of departing students. Just as he went to get the other boy’s attention though, he was grabbed by Marvel. Turning to give the boy a questioning look, Peeta very quickly got his answer – “Drinks and basketball at my house, remember?” It wasn’t exactly Peeta’s idea of a good time but he knew it was the sort of thing Cato wouldn’t miss because he was always boasting about how great he was at any sport and how much he liked to drink and party.

Looking over at where Cato was waiting for him, Peeta hesitated for a moment before replying, “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” The next thing he knew, Marvel’s arm was around his shoulders and they were walking past a confused-looking Cato on the way to his car. Peeta chose not to look back and just roll with it.

~

Peeta’s afternoon turned out to be a lot more fun than he’d expected. Apparently Cato’s body retained its muscle memory even with Peeta’s consciousness in it because he scored a hoop with every shot he made at the basketball net. Usually he was disgusted by the taste of beer but Cato’s body didn’t react nearly as strongly to it. In fact, it even tasted _good_ which surprised Peeta. Of all the aspects of switching bodies with someone, muscle memory and taste buds were not the things he thought of first.

Before long, Peeta and Marvel were joined by Thresh and a couple of the other boys from the football team. For once, Peeta felt grateful that they were the exact same boys who had made his high school life hell because at least he knew their names and how Cato would act around them. It was when the cheerleaders arrived that Peeta was stumped because he’d never really paid them any attention. They didn’t go out of their way to bully him like the boys did, they just totally ignored him and as Peeta’s own interest in girls of any clique wasn’t exactly high, he’d had no reason to learn any of their names.

A blonde girl draped her arms around his shoulders and kissed his cheek before Peeta could even react, leaving him in stunned silence. He’d had no idea Cato was dating anyone! “Cat got your tongue?” she purred into his ear using a sexy voice that would probably make any straight guy weak in the knees and hard in their pants. Even though Peeta himself wasn’t one of those guys, his body definitely was and he couldn’t help it as he felt a shifting in his pants.

“Cato! No having sex with Glimmer on my couch!” Marvel yelled at him from across the room, finally giving Peeta the blonde cheerleader’s name. _Glimmer_. She was hot in an obvious way – thin with curves in all the right places and she definitely knew how to use it to her advantage. Peeta’s heart began to beat faster, silently wishing he’d cancelled on Marvel and gone with Cato like he was supposed to.

“I’m sure he’ll let us use his bed,” Glimmer said suggestively as she began to trace her slender fingers along Peeta’s collar bone. He started to panic, wondering how the hell he was going to get out of this when his body was very clearly reacting to every word and every touch. He practically let out a sigh of relief when Marvel yelled at them again to tell them that no, they could not have sex in his bed. Peeta silently thanked god for Marvel being the world’s biggest cockblock.

Clearing his throat, Peeta pushed himself up off the sofa and out of Glimmer’s clutches. “I, uh… need to pee,” he exclaimed lamely, making a speedy exit towards a door he hoped led to the toilet. Luckily he was right and hadn’t ended up in the garage or something because Peeta really didn’t need any more awkward situations today.

Staring into the mirror above the sink, Peeta felt a shiver go down his spine. It was strange seeing Cato’s face looking back at him. The two boys couldn’t be more different in personality, in body type, in just about everything and yet here they were, stuck in each other’s body with no idea how they’d got there and how they were going to reverse it. If the afternoon’s events had told Peeta anything it was that he was definitely not cut out for pretending to be Cato.

Checking his cell phone, Peeta read through the numerous angry texts Cato had sent him since he’d left him at school a few hours beforehand. Apparently he was waiting for Peeta at some diner outside of town. Even though he knew the other boy wouldn’t be happy to see him, Peeta knew it was a better idea than sticking around and getting himself into more trouble with Cato’s friends.

Excusing himself from the party with complaints about a bad stomach, Peeta jogged through various neighborhoods on his way to the destination. He couldn’t help but notice how Cato’s body didn’t tire as easily as his own did. Usually he’d be sweating and panting after barely a minute of running but Cato’s body was built in a different way, it was used to frequent exercise and pushing itself to the limit in a way Peeta had never even dared to attempt before.

When he reached the diner, he had barely broken a sweat but felt strangely excited by the whole ordeal. While he would never want to stay in this body forever there were definitely some perks to being in it and he was going to enjoy them for as long as they were stuck like this.

Cato was sat a booth by himself looking as grumpy as he had every moment since their unexpected switch. If it was even possible the moment he saw Peeta his expression only got darker. Ready for a verbal lashing, Peeta approached the booth and sat down opposite the boy in his body without saying anything.

For a couple of moments, Cato didn’t say a thing. Then he said something Peeta hadn’t been expecting at all – “We’re gonna have to wait this out.” Confused, Peeta just blinked. “This… whatever this is. We don’t know what caused it, we don’t know how to switch back,” Cato elaborated through his angry glare, “So we have to wait until it fixes itself.”

The only thought running through Peeta’s head was ‘ _this is a joke’._ There was no way Cato was actually being serious, was there? “You’re not serious?” The only response he received was a continued icy glare. “I can’t be you. We can’t just ‘wait it out’!”

“I live down on 2nd,” was all Cato had to say in reply, “The big blue house. Can’t miss it.” Before Peeta could say anything, Cato was already getting out of the booth. “Try not to fuck up my reputation too much,” he continued before walking away. Peeta was too stunned to call out for him, to tell him how crazy his idea was and how impossible it was for Peeta to _not_ fuck up his reputation. Instead he just sat there in a daze, wondering what the hell he was going to do.

Peeta really hoped he didn’t have to wait too long for this to sort itself out.


	2. Temptations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peeta can't stop himself from exploring his new body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this is going to smutty places. Oops.

Peeta had always known that Cato was well of financially but he’d never realized the true expanse of his family’s wealth. Cato’s home was much more than just _the big blue house_ , it was practically a palace with endless rooms and so many opportunities for Peeta to get lost and make a total fool of himself. He was pretty sure he’d need to draw a map for himself before he ended up wandering into the bedroom of Cato’s parents or his butler and seeing something he really shouldn’t. 

After some struggle, he made it into the relative safety of Cato’s room and shut himself away before anybody could try and talk to him. The main giveaway that it was Cato’s room was the obnoxious display of football trophies that covered almost an entire wall and only made Peeta roll his eyes. While he could see the appeal of sports and keeping fit, he could never make it his whole life like Cato apparently had. The boy basically defined himself as being ‘head jock’ and as far as Peeta knew, he didn’t exactly have many layers underneath that. 

Being in the other boy’s room felt like an intrusion but Peeta knew there wasn’t anything he could do about it. His parents would be confused if he went back to his own home so instead he was trapped in Cato’s unfamiliar residence with rich snobby parents somewhere in the rooms below and a line of first place sport trophies looking at him. It was more than enough to be unsettling. 

Looking into the mirror didn’t make him feel any better. Peeta knew that in his own body he wasn’t exactly the most stunning boy at school but he knew he wasn’t ugly and most importantly he was comfortable in his own skin. That wasn’t him anymore, at least not for now. He wasn’t in his own skin and he didn’t know when he was going to be again – if he ever even would be again. The thought of never going back terrified him so much he pushed it away, refusing to accept that it was a possibility. If this was the supernatural work of some higher power, surely they would care enough to fix the mess they had started? 

As he stared at the other boy’s face in the mirror, Peeta found something small to laugh about. For so long he had pined after Cato in silence despite the boy’s terrible personality and now he was in the body of his dreams and he was too spun out to really enjoy it. Was he though? Peeta paused, pulling a thoughtful expression in the mirror and found himself giggling at the absurdity of it. Maybe there were ways he could enjoy it as long as he didn’t get too carried away. 

Silly expression followed after dramatic expression, tongue wags after serious frowns and Peeta had to admit that it was pretty amusing. He took a bunch of selfies just so Cato would discover them later before returning to the mirror and deliberately posing in ridiculous poses. Cato was an exhibitionist and everyone knew it but with his large muscles and natural cockiness, nobody really cared. At least there was always a bit of eye candy on display. Maybe he couldn’t replicate Cato’s cockiness but he could definitely do the poses, watching as the muscles in his arms shifted with every flex and the sleeves were pushed even further towards breaking point. 

Without putting too much thought into what he was doing, Peeta moved his hands down to the hem of his tight muscle shirt and slowly peeled it up to reveal a perfect six-pack of abs. It wasn’t much of a surprise or that uncommon a sight because Cato was pretty much the definition of show-off and he made no secret of his perfect body much to the annoyance of smaller guys like Peeta. Pulling the shirt up and over his head, he threw it aside and didn’t waste time in tracing his hands across the washboard abs and feeling the hard muscles underneath his skin. It was a strange feeling to be this strong and this muscled but there was a certain erotic curiosity that Peeta couldn’t deny, one that he was buying into without even realizing it. 

All the exploring of his new body had made his shorts start to tent and instinctively Peeta’s hand travelled further south to palm at the new bulge. A masculine groan escaped his lips as he felt the hardening length beneath the fabric and he practically raced to shove his hand below the waistband and wrap his hand around the impressive length. Cato was bigger than him by a few inches but that wasn’t too surprising considering Cato seemed to be better than him in every department – height, athleticism… The only thing Peeta felt like he had an advantage on was his intellect. 

Unable to stop himself, Peeta started to stroke the hard length until he was rock hard and driving himself crazy. His hand started to pump harder and faster, a breath hitching in his throat as he closed his eyes tight and let the sensation overwhelm him. He couldn’t stop his mind from wandering and imagining that he was back in his own body with Cato giving him the best handjob ever. It was what he thought of all too often whenever he was getting himself off and the fantasy hadn’t changed even in the current situation.

It was only when he opened his eyes and caught sight of his reflection in the mirror that he paused. Suddenly the realization of what he was doing washed over him – this wasn’t his body and yet he was touching it inappropriately without Cato’s permission. It was wrong, the kind of thing Peeta had promised himself he couldn’t do but he just couldn’t help himself. He was already so turned on and who knew how long this was going to last for? This could be his only opportunity to touch Cato’s body this intimately and it wasn’t like the other boy would find out unless he told him…

Content with his decision, Peeta resumed his rhythmic pumping until he couldn’t take it anymore and he felt his body release all over his hand. It was messy and hot and Peeta could hardly believe he’d done it. Collapsing back on the bed, he pulled his hand out of his pants and stared at the sticky white liquid coating it. Reaching out to grab a tissue off the nightstand, he wiped his hand clean and let out a small sigh of relief. He felt dirty, sure, but he also felt _alive_. 

That, of course, was when his cell phone went off and Peeta read the message Cato had sent him – _Football practice 2mrow, playbook in draw. Get reading!!!_

In his haze of self-pleasure, Peeta had almost forgotten the downside of being in Cato’s body. He knew absolutely nothing about football and now he was the team’s captain. The team was going to be looking to him to lead them. How the hell was he going to survive a single day in the other boy’s body when he had no idea how to do the one thing Cato was the best at?


	3. Pretending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cato continues to confuse Peeta.

The day started far too early for Peeta’s liking.

He was woken up by a curt knock on the door and a clipped tone telling him that he was already twenty minutes late and would have to forego breakfast. Peeta knew he should have guessed that Cato wouldn’t set an alarm or anything but it hadn’t even crossed his mind, he’d been too preoccupied with the weird feeling that had settled in his stomach after he’d pleasured himself in the other boy’s body. What if Cato found out? What would he say?

Weeding through the piles of clothes at the food of Cato’s bed, Peeta picked out a shirt and pair of jeans he hadn’t seen Cato wearing recently – and he hated the fact he could remember what the other boy wore – and threw them on before hurrying out the door. He’d made it all the way down the corridor before realizing that he’d forgotten the letterman jacket Cato was never seen without. Running back to grab it, he then realized he’d forgotten the car keys and quickly grabbed them before racing downstairs. It was now ten minutes until he was supposed to be in homeroom and a twenty minute drive. _Just great_.

Peeta was still only a learner driver – his overprotective parents had been too reluctant to let him get into any situation where they thought he could easily get hurt – but apparently this body retained enough muscle memory that it just felt natural to him. The car was more expensive than anything he’d ever be able to afford but that was true about pretty much anything Cato owned. He was really living the good life and judging by his attitude, he knew it too. Peeta could only imagine how the other boy was doing with his humble home and hand-me-down clothes. Being one of six brothers and the second youngest meant that he didn’t exactly get a lot of new things for himself, it was always something his brother’s didn’t want. Peeta couldn’t imagine that Cato had ever been given a hand-me-down in his life.

The drive to school sped past a little more literally than Peeta had been meaning to but he was only five minutes late when he pulled up in Cato’s usual parking space – again something Peeta hated himself for knowing – and rushed into the building. The looks he got when he walked into homeroom were enough to stop him in his tracks until he heard Ms Trinket’s thin voice saying, “Cato! So nice of you to join us… for once!” In his panic trying to get to school on time he’d forgotten something essential: Cato would never rush to school or even bother arriving on time.

Cato himself was sat in the front row, frowning at him. Peeta knew he probably looked like shit and he was still trying to get his breath back but it was nothing compared to how much of an idiot he felt. He was going to get caught out in a couple of days flat at this rate if he didn’t get his act together and start acting like the boy whose body he was currently wearing. Stomping to the back of the room and sitting alone in the row the jocks were supposed to occupy, Peeta kept his head down and tried to zone out. He could still feel people looking at him and that alone was weird. He was so used to being invisible to everyone, nobody ever spoke to him unless it was some bigger kid wanting to push him around and look tough and yet now he was the centre of attention just by walking into the room. It was unsettling, frankly.

The other jocks arrived towards the end of homeroom and were just as shocked to see who they thought was Cato already there as everybody had been to see him arrive. Peeta shifted uncomfortably in his seat, smiling weakly as Thresh and Marvel sat either side of him and immediately started a discussion about the football practice they had later on in the day. It wasn’t exactly calming Peeta down much either. He’d spent the rest of his night pouring over Cato’s playbook trying to remember the plays and just hoping he could remember even the simplest rules of the game but honestly he didn’t hold much hope for himself.

He was going to fuck up and majorly kill Cato’s rep, he knew it.

Peeta spent most of the day following Thresh and Marvel around, listening to them trash talk people he actually liked without ever being able to say anything. Not answering questions in class was still difficult and he’d learned quickly that he shouldn’t be taking any notes either because the boys just looked at him like he was crazy until he laughed it off and drew a giant dick over the paper. It was strange how straight boys were so fixated on drawing penises but if Peeta could use it to his advantage then he would.

He had his first proper run-in with Cato during lunch. Thresh and Marvel had disappeared to go bully lunch money out of some poor kid but Peeta had decided to skip that for obvious reasons. He’d been one of those kids not too long ago and the idea of continuing the circle of bullying wasn’t exactly appealing to him. He’d been on his way to Cato’s locker when he saw the boy at his own and couldn’t resist going to him. There wasn’t anyone around so it wasn’t like he was putting Cato’s reputation in more jeopardy than he already had.

“You’re quiet,” he said by way of introduction, leaning against the lockers and looking down at his own shorter body.

Cato just shrugged, responding simply, “I’m getting in character.” It wasn’t exactly the response Peeta was expecting. “You’re a loser with no friends, who am I supposed to talk to?” Cato continued, glaring up at him.

“Point taken,” Peeta agreed, letting out a small sigh as he let his head lull back against the metal of the lockers. “I’m going to suck at practice today.” Cato didn’t reply, he just continued glaring. “What, I can’t help it! I can’t play football, I should just say I’m sick or something.”

Cato slammed the locker door shut and stood there, silently fuming. Peeta could tell from the other boy’s expression that he wasn’t exactly helping matters. Of course, that was the moment somebody decided to interrupt their little moment and it wasn’t just anybody either. It was Gale Hawthorne, Peeta’s sometime-friend and one of the only people in the whole school who actively stood up to Cato on a daily basis. Gale was built just as tall and strong as Cato was and if it came to a fight, it was anybody’s guess who would win. In their current predicament, the last thing Peeta wanted was a fight with Gale.

“This guy bothering you?” Gale asked, directing the question at who he thought was Peeta. The real Peeta could only watch as Cato’s hand twitched slightly from irritation and a desire to immediately start a brawl with his rival. All three of them knew there was no way Peeta’s body would last in a fight, especially not with a guy like Gale.

“It’s Cato, what do you think?” came Cato’s reply, causing Peeta’s heart to drop right through the centre of the Earth. _Wait, what?!_ Had Cato gone insane? Before Peeta could even seriously consider that notion, Gale was blocking his view of the other boy and glaring straight into his eyes. Perhaps it wasn’t the best time for Peeta to notice that he was finally at the other boy’s eye level and boy was that a weird feeling.

“I think you should back off,” Gale growled, the venom in his voice directed at Peeta.

“I wasn’t doing anything.”

“Likely story.”

There was no way Peeta was going to win this encounter and he knew it. Better to back off before he got a quick punch to the jaw, even if it would be a good excuse to skip football practice. “Whatever,” he muttered as he backed away, “Go screw yourself.” The comment was aimed at Cato even though he could no longer see the boy thanks to Gale’s bulk but Peeta knew better than to push it any further. He’d walk away to fight another day even if his confusion and anger at the other boy was reaching new levels.

What kind of game was Cato even playing with him?

Right before turning the corner Peeta risked a look back. Cato and Gale were in deep discussion, using hushed voices and standing closer than Cato had ever allowed himself to be with Gale unless some sort of violence was involved. The sight alone was enough to make Peeta nervous.

Football practice turned out to not be as horrible as he’d expected. His late night researching plays paid off somewhat and even though everybody was telling him that he was off his game, Peeta really didn’t think he was doing so badly considering he’d never played a game of football in his life. His current body seemed to know how to react to every situation: how to avoid getting sacked without pulling any muscles in his escape or how to throw to Marvel down the other end of the field, stuff that he’d never have known. It just seemed so natural in Cato’s body that Peeta had learned not to question it. He was rough, sure, and maybe he wasn’t up to Cato’s standard but he hadn’t gotten him kicked off the team or put in hospital so that was definitely a win in Peeta’s eyes.

Hitting the showers was a different challenge altogether. He’d always hated showering after gym class because even though he was the most invisible kid in school, jocks seemed to have some sixth sense (or enjoyed lying) about when other guys were looking at their junk and Peeta didn’t want to get caught out so he waited until most of the guys were done, kept his head down and did his business as quickly as possible. He’d much rather be invisible than ‘that gay freak’.

Things were different in this body though – because wasn’t everything? – and Peeta knew the ‘shower late, avoid talking’ method wouldn’t work. Cato was the team’s quarterback, the other boys practically looked at him to start the conversation and offer loud obnoxious opinions the way Cato always did. It wasn’t something Peeta was a natural at but that wasn’t too surprising considering he seemed to have absolutely nothing in common with Cato.

“What’s got you so quiet?” Thresh asked as they head into the showers, pulling Peeta’s attention away from his thoughts. It was now or never, really.

“Yeah, you’ve been weird all day!” Marvel chimed in, assuming his regular position at Cato’s side. Peeta couldn’t actually remember a time he’d seen Marvel without Cato stood next to him, the boy was seriously attached or something.

“Just feel sick,” Peeta grunted, playing it off casual even though his heart had started to beat a little faster. He didn’t want this to turn into a fully blown interrogation. “Besides, I saw you fumble that pass. Thought you knew how to catch?” he added in a snide voice, throwing Marvel a look he hoped was somewhere between playful and mocking but wouldn’t earn him a punch in the face. Judging by Thresh’s booming laugh, it was exactly the sort of thing Cato would say.

“Shut up, Cato.” Marvel didn’t put up any more of an argument but continued mumbling under his breath. Peeta couldn’t help but join Thresh in laughing at the other boy’s misfortune. Apparently Marvel wasn’t brave enough to properly argue with Cato and that worked just fine for Peeta.

The rest of the time in the showers was spent with Thresh reciting some story about some skinny little freshman trying to stand up to him when he stole his lunch money. Peeta didn’t find it very funny at all because he’d seen the freshman shuffling around school and getting pushed around too often but he knew he couldn’t say anything so he just laughed along with the other boys, pretending like he was just as careless and smug as Cato was. It was a surprisingly tough role to play.

Walking out of the locker room, Peeta refused the other boys’ attempts to get him to go drinking with them by using the sickness excuse again when all he really wanted to do was get the hell out of there. On the way back to his car, he couldn’t help but get his cell phone out and shoot Cato a slightly irritated text.

 **_Peeta_ ** _to **Cato:** Explain earlier to me please._

Getting into the car, he started up the engine but remained sat there without driving off. It was only now he was finally alone that he realized just how frustrated he was. He couldn’t do this, he couldn’t possibly fool the world into thinking he was Cato when the boy himself didn’t want to help him out at all. Pretending to be Peeta was easy, he was a nobody and Cato was anything _but_ a nobody. Finally his phone buzzed again with a reply and Peeta snatched it up, eager to see the boy explain himself.

 **_Cato_ ** _to **Peeta:** Dunno what ur talkin bout._

As if Peeta needed more reasons to be angry at the other boy, he now had one. Letting out a growl of frustration, Peeta pulled out of the parking space and sped back to Cato’s house. He really wasn’t in the mood to be dealing with the other boy’s shit, especially when that shit involved Cato making friends with his sworn enemy and leaving Peeta to fend for himself in an unfamiliar world of being a bully and a football player.

This time, he didn’t feel so guilty about exploring the other boy’s body. He didn’t wait long, laying on the bed and starting to massage the bulge in his pants until he was rock hard and just begging to be touched some more. He didn’t bother silencing his own groans either, wanting to hear the other boy’s voice as he made himself climax. It was a petty revenge but it made Peeta feel a little better and that was exactly what he needed at that moment.

He’d barely finished cleaning himself up when he was summoned down to dinner by Cato’s butler and Peeta had to fight himself not to roll his eyes at how ridiculously unfair it was that his family even had a butler. How high and mighty could they get?

Dinner turned out to be every bit as uncomfortable as Peeta had expected it to be. Cato’s parents spent a good length of time talking about the trip to the Bahamas they’d just been on – for business, of course – and then continued on to announce that they were heading off the next day for another important trip to somewhere in Italy. Honestly Peeta was just relieved that the only person he’d have to put up with was the crusty old butler he’d not so fondly nicknamed Jeeves.

When the attention finally turned to who they thought was their son and asked a simple, “How’s school?” Peeta just shrugged in response, sending them off into another tirade about how he was never trying hard enough and yada yada yada, Peeta really didn’t care. He just fazed them out until they were a nagging voice in the distance, the way most kids did with their parents. The only exception was that Peeta was being nagged at by parents that weren’t his own and after his strange and crappy day, he really wasn’t in the mood to deal with that.

When he finally came back to his senses, Cato’s parents were already packing loudly upstairs and he was alone. Heading back up to Cato’s room, he pulled out his phone and sent out one last text to the other boy:

 **_Peeta_ ** _to **Cato:** You better find a way to switch us back._

The rest of the night flew by without Peeta ever getting a reply.


	4. Development

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peeta sees red.

The next couple of days went by like a blur. Peeta found himself starting to slip into a routine and that scared him. He’d been in Cato’s body for five days now and it was starting to feel more hopeless with every passing day. Having a butler bumble around and do his every bidding was starting to feel like second nature, picking up his letterman jacket and speeding to school felt like second nature and even hanging around Marvel, Thresh and Glimmer felt normal. Football practice wasn’t even as terrifying as it had been at first and Peeta would even dare to say he was enjoying the game. If he didn’t have more confidence in his mental stability he would have said he was starting to lose himself in the role of being Cato.

Cato’s responses to his text were always vague and frustrating to the point that Peeta stopped trying with the other boy. He’d been researching possible causes and methods of switching bodies on the internet whenever he had a spare moment but so far he’d found nothing of any use. As far as the rest of the world knew, switching bodies was still a thing of fiction and Peeta knew better than to try and convince them otherwise. They’d think he was crazy and judging by Cato’s recent weird behavior, the other boy wouldn’t exactly be jumping to his defence.

Peeta hadn’t even been able to speak to the other boy since their encounter in the corridor a few days prior because every time he got close, Gale appeared out of nowhere and gave him a challenging look that said enough for Peeta to back off. Gale and Cato had been seen together a lot over the past week and Glimmer had started a rumor that they were dating that spread like wildfire until pretty much everybody thought it was the truth. If it bothered either of the boys though it didn’t show and Peeta was gripped by a horrible thought: what if Cato and Gale _were_ dating?

No, that was too ridiculous.

A week ago the boys hated each other; it was a little quick for them to be dating – wasn’t it? Still, the thought that it even _could_ happen was enough to make Peeta’s skin crawl. He was still a virgin and the last thing he wanted was for his body to lose its virginity to _Gale_ while it was being controlled by _Cato_ rather than himself.

Speaking of sex, Glimmer had become difficult to avoid too. She didn’t make much effort in hiding her attraction to who she thought was Cato and Peeta was running out of excuses as to why he was avoiding her so much. He knew that Cato had never turned Glimmer down before, the two were constantly going at it wherever they could and Peeta had heard rumors through the grapevine about some of the crazy things they’d done together – it was one of the reasons he’d disliked Glimmer for such a long time – but Peeta just couldn’t bring himself to do anything with her. One: it was weird because he wasn’t really Cato, Two: Peeta was pretty sure he was strictly into guys and Three: Peeta liked the idea of losing his virginity in Cato’s body about as much as he liked the idea of Cato having sex in _his_ body aka not so much.

Still, even Marvel and Thresh who weren’t exactly the most switched-on guys had noticed that their friend was acting a little weirdly when it came to Glimmer. “Do you have like a secret girlfriend or something?” Marvel asked suddenly as they skulked between classes, catching Peeta totally off guard.

“Secret girlfriend?” Peeta repeated, frowning slightly.

“Well, you and Glimmer aren’t going at it like bunnies anymore.” Thresh nodded in agreement. Clearly this wasn’t a conversation Peeta was getting out of easily.

“Is it that Everdeen girl?” Thresh asked, earning a snicker off Marvel at the sheer idea of it. Peeta couldn’t help but frown. He knew who they were talking about. Katniss Everdeen was something of a loner and had been more than a little stand-offish with Cato on previous occasions but she’d always been nice to Peeta. He didn’t think she deserved half of the bad rep she got.

“It’s not Katniss,” Peeta growled, attempting to speed ahead of them only for the two to match his quickened pace.

“But there is someone?”

“There’s not. Drop it.”

“Is it a dude?” If there was one thing to make Peeta stop in his tracks, that was it.

“Why the hell would it be a dude?” he asked, his anger rising by the second as the two harpy-like boys continued to prod him with annoying questions.

“Well if there’s not a girl…” Marvel suggested carefully, eyeing Peeta as if he was about to snap at any moment. Peeta didn’t think he’d ever intimidated anybody before but an argument could definitely be made for that moment right there.

“Of course it’s not a guy. I’m not a _queer_ ,” Peeta scoffed, hating how obnoxious Cato’s voice sounded as he said those words but he knew there was nothing else he could do. He was already a pariah in his own body, he didn’t need to do the same to another person, even somebody as terrible as Cato. “There’s nobody, I’m just bored of Glimmer so fucking drop it already.”

Without waiting for a response, he pushed past the other boys. For once in their lives they didn’t immediately rush after him and Peeta couldn’t have been happier, he just needed some peace and quiet for a change.

~

Sneaking out of the school building, he crept around the building to a small alcove behind the gym where he often went to clear his head. He’d never seen anybody else there before and it was obscured by enough bushes to still be somewhat secret so he figured it was a safe place to go.

Then again, it hadn’t exactly been Peeta’s day so of course he was wrong. It was already occupied by a couple of guys. A couple of guys kissing and touching in ways people only did in private.

Of course those guys were _Gale and Cato_. Peeta couldn’t help seeing red.

“What the fuck is this?!”

Cato jumped out of Gale’s arms at lightning speed, wide terrified eyes looking between the boys. Peeta had to admit the other boy had really perfected his ‘deer in the headlights’ expression, it was no wonder that nobody was suspicious of him.

Gale’s reaction, on the other hand, was a little more confrontational. Before Peeta could even blink the other boy was in his personal space staring him down with a mean look that really held no prisoners. Peeta knew this was a dangerous situation to get him but the flames of his anger had been fanned for the past hour and catching the two of them had made him explode. “Mind your own fucking business,” Gale retorted as he squared off against who he thought was Cato.

“This is my business!” Peeta couldn’t stop himself from spitting the words out in response because it _was_. That was his body Cato was using, Gale thought he was making out with Peeta and he wasn’t, he was making out with an imposter who had clearly lost his mind. “So get out of my way while I talk to _Peeta_ here.”

“Like hell I will. You’re not getting anywhere near him.”

Cato tugged on Gale’s arm, urging him quietly, “Let it go, Gale. Come on, let’s just go!” He pointedly avoided looking at Peeta but that only made him angrier.

“Figured you were the jealous type,” Gale continued, pulling Peeta’s attention back to him.

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“You know.” Peeta had never heard two words laced with so much venom before. He was startled enough for his angry expression to drop into a frown but didn’t make any move to back down.

Cato resumed pulling on Gale’s arm, looking even more uncomfortable than before. Peeta looked between them, his stomach twisting again as his mind went to an unhappy place – _what else have they already done?_ Had Cato allowed Gale to touch his body in the most intimate places, the places Peeta wasn’t ready to let anybody touch yet? It was enough to send his anger flaring up again. “I want to talk to Peeta,” he growled again, barely noticing as his fingers clenched into fists.

Gale just laughed and shook his head. “Go fuck yourself, Cato.”

Peeta didn’t know what possessed him to do it but a second later he swung at the other and connected a right-hook with the boy’s face. His fist stung with pain as it collided with the hard cheekbone but sheer adrenaline kept Peeta going, already going in for another punch. He’d never been a violent person or gotten in a fight before but he was so overcome with anger and frustration at what Cato was doing to him and his life that he couldn’t stop himself.

He didn’t have the upper hand for long before Gale was kicking back at him and suddenly they were scrapping on the floor, a mess of swinging limbs. For his first fight, Peeta thought he was holding it together pretty well but he knew he was in over his head; Gale was hitting him for more than he was hitting Gale and his face was ringing with pain like he’d never felt before. He could feel blood on his lips either from a split lip or a bloody nose – maybe even both.

Cato was yelling in the background, practically begging them to stop. He grabbed Gale, trying to pull the much larger boy off of Peeta in a feeble attempt. In response, Gale did something that surprised all three boys, pushing the other back with so much force that Cato hit the building wall head first. There was a sickening crunch was something broke and then Cato dropped to the floor, covering his face with his hands and letting out a strangled noise that made Peeta feel sick. The fight stopped immediately.

Before Gale could sweep Cato up into his arms like he was clearly intending to do, teachers were suddenly upon them. Somebody had clearly overseen their fight and alerted the staff but Peeta was too shocked to listen to what they were yelling at him. His mind was replaying the events of the last ten minutes: finding Gale and Cato, yelling at Gale like he’d never yelled at anyone before, _fighting_ Gale and then Cato getting involved. It all seemed like a sick dream but by time Peeta snapped out of his thoughts and found himself sat across from Principal Snow, he knew it was anything but. This was his reality now.

“I should have you expelled for this!” the elderly man yelled through his bushy white beard, “I have tried everything with you – patience, second chances, excused you for things others would have suspended you for!” Peeta had no idea what the man was on about, this was a whole part of Cato’s life he had no idea about but this wasn’t exactly the best time to go and ask the other. Hell, Peeta wasn’t sure he’d ever get to see his own body again without Gale immediately starting a fight with him. He had no idea what to say to the principal so instead he just bowed his head and stayed silent.

“This is your absolute last chance, Cato. Mess this up and you’re out for good,” the principal continued gruffly, “And don’t think you can buy your way into another school, not with your track record.” Peeta could only imagine the sheer number of fights and other incidents Cato had been involved in.

“A month of detention and you’re off the team,” Principal Snow concluded and Peeta was surprised to find that the punishment actually _hurt_. Of all the things in Cato’s life, football was the one thing he didn’t actually hate. Sure, he wasn’t very good at it but he liked the challenge and distraction it provided him. Without it… well, what else did he have? “That or I can expel you, your choice.” Peeta knew there wasn’t really a choice there at all.

“The month of detention,” he mumbled in agreement, avoiding the other man’s eye.

“I suggest you go and tell Coach Brutus why you’ll no longer be leading his team,” Snow said in a decidedly final tone. Peeta knew there was nothing else to say.


	5. Detention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peeta and Cato finally see eye-to-eye.

Being off the team changed Cato’s life in lots of little ways, some of which Peeta was thankful for and others that he really wasn’t.

For instance, it meant he saw less of Thresh and Marvel which he wasn’t exactly complaining about but now there were lots of rumors going around school that he was a coke addict or he had fucked the coach’s daughter and Peeta was pretty sure none of them were helping Cato’s reputation at all. It was finally starting to happen: Peeta was totally ruining Cato’s cool reputation and yet he didn’t really care that much. It wasn’t as if he owed Cato anything, not after the way the other boy had been treating him as of late.

Coach Brutus hadn’t exactly been the happiest man alive when he heard he was a player down and Peeta was pretty sure his ears were still ringing from the other man’s tirade. He’d wanted to point out but he’d hardly been the star player on the team as of late but he had a feeling that would only increase the coach’s rage so he stayed silent and took the verbal beating.

Avoiding Gale had become commonplace for Peeta. If he was even in the same hallway as the other boy one of them would turn around and walk away. It was probably for the best, Peeta really didn’t want to get into another fight. Hell, he wasn’t sure how he’d even made it through the first one alive and relatively unharmed.

Weirdly, Peeta hadn’t seen Cato around Gale much as of late and the only time he had they seemed to be having some kind of disagreement. Peeta knew that shouldn’t have made him as happy as it did but he couldn’t help it, seeing the two of them together brought up a feeling of jealousy he found it increasingly hard to supress. He wasn’t sure if it was because he wanted to be the one Gale was so protective over or if despite the huge mess they’d gotten themselves into, his crush on Cato was still going strong. Considering how often he spent staring at Cato’s face and body in the reflection Peeta was pretty sure it was the latter, he just couldn’t understand why he was so hung up over such an arrogant douchebag like Cato.

After what had been pretty much the worst day of school Peeta had ever experienced – Thresh and Marvel had been extra irritating, Glimmer had practically tried to give him a handjob beneath the table at lunch and then his detention had been monitored by Coach Brutus of all people – he was finally heading home. His route back to Cato’s house took him by his own home and he couldn’t help but instinctively slow as he approached. He could see his parents through the window of the living room, chatting happily without ever knowing that the boy they were currently living with wasn’t their son and they hadn’t even seen their real son in weeks. Peeta’s heart sunk slightly, a longing growing inside of him that he’d been trying to ignore for too long. He was homesick, it was simple as that.

“You know, that looks a little creepy.” It took Peeta a few moments to work out where the voice was coming from before he located Cato perched on the window ledge of Peeta’s bedroom, his feet dangling onto the porch roof. He had bandages over his nose and Peeta winced slightly.

“Is it broken?” he asked, feeling guilty. Cato nodded.

“Whatever, it’s like a battle scar or something,” he responded, surprisingly light-hearted for somebody whose nose had been broken just a week before by their boyfriend. Peeta couldn’t help but chuckle. “You wanna come up?”

“Inviting me into my own house? Wow.” Despite his sarcasm, Peeta couldn’t help but grin. “Sure.”

All of thirty seconds later he was standing inside his bedroom for the first time since their mystery switch and even though nothing had changed it felt _different_ somehow. Maybe it was just that he was taller and everything suddenly seemed so small to him. Hell, only now that they were alone together for the first time in weeks did Peeta realize just how short his body was in comparison to Cato’s.

“So…” Peeta didn’t really know where to start. Apparently Cato didn’t either.

After clearing his throat, Peeta hadn’t intended to say anything but before he knew it, words were already slipping out. “What’s going on between you and Gale?”

For a moment, Cato froze up but just as Peeta took note of the weird reaction, he relaxed suddenly and even looked a little flustered. “Oh, we’re… uh, we’re dating.”

Peeta had known that for a while now, it had hardly been a secret after all, but to hear it out loud still surprised him. “I didn’t know you liked guys,” he said honestly, shrugging it off. Still, it was enough for Cato to get crabby again.

“I don’t!” The answer came a little too quickly for Peeta to believe. “I just… Gale seems to really like—” He broke off for a moment, sadness flickering across his face for a moment. “You. He seems to really like you.” If there was anything that could make Peeta seriously uncomfortable in that moment, that was definitely it.

“Then maybe you should break up with him,” he suggested, shrugging his shoulders. “I mean, maybe it’s all nice now but you’re kind of lying to him.” Peeta had never been good at voicing his opinions even with his few friends and yet here he was telling Cato exactly what he’d thought. Being in the other boy’s body had toughened him up more than he’d realized. “I mean, he thinks you’re me. What if he found out?”

“He’d hate me,” Cato agreed miserably before letting out a sigh. “You’re right, I need to break up with him.”

“Besides, he kinda broke your nose too.” Peeta wasn’t sure if he meant it as a joke but the temperature seemed to drop considerably as they sunk back into awkwardness.

“I’ve been trying to find a way to switch back,” Cato said finally, glancing sideways at Peeta. “No luck so far but I’m trying.” The news was like a godsend to Peeta’s ears.

“Then I’ll keep trying too.” It wasn’t like Peeta had ever stopped, he was just glad to know they were finally on the same page again.

 

~

 

So far the detentions had been lonely, boring affairs with Peeta occasionally working under the watchful eye of a teacher and other times just pacing around the school for an hour but his detention the next day was different for one reason – he was no longer alone.

He recognized his new companion instantly too: Katniss Everdeen, another of the school’s outcasts and the girl Thresh had been so keen to mock just a week ago. Despite her reputation as a moody loner she always smiled whenever she saw Peeta so when their eyes met and she fixed him with a glare, he was momentarily surprised. Of course then he remembered that he was in the body of one of the school’s meanest bullies and her anger suddenly made a lot more sense. Peeta should have guessed that Katniss wouldn’t exactly be Cato’s biggest fan. Besides, he knew that she was friends with Gale and that only doubled the reasons for her to be mad at him. The odds weren’t exactly stacked in Peeta’s favor for making it out of the detention alive.

The two of them had been assigned to clean the graffiti off the school’s lockers and for twenty minutes they worked in complete silence. Uncomfortable, overbearing silence. Then, Katniss broke the ice.

“You’re a fucking idiot, you know that?” The sharp tone of her voice cut through the air like a knife and Peeta all but flinched, caught totally by surprise both by the suddenness of her words and the anger in them. He knew they weren’t for him, they were for Cato, but that didn’t mean they didn’t sting.

“Excuse me?” It was about all Peeta could bring himself to say.

“Getting kicked off the football team because you were _jealous_? It’s pathetic.”

“Wow, I never knew you cared so much!” Peeta wasn’t sure when he got so sarcastic but by now it was like second nature to him. Maybe it was all the idiocy he had to put up with in Cato’s body. He was so caught up in giving Katniss the same sarcastic lip he’d given to Cato the day before that it took a few moments for her words to sink in. “Wait, jealous? What do I have to be jealous of?”

Katniss fixed him with a knowing look that did nothing more than make Peeta uncomfortable. What did she know about Cato that he didn’t?

“I’m not who everyone thinks I am, you know.” He wasn’t sure why he’d said it, he just couldn’t help himself. It wasn’t like he was about to confess the whole truth to her or anything, he just hated everybody seeing him as nothing more than a dumb jock. Maybe Cato didn’t care or maybe he liked being seen that way but it didn’t sit right with Peeta, it made his flesh crawl.

For a few moments, Katniss just stared at him with the same hard look that had made him uncomfortable before but suddenly the expression softened and she was looking at him with something that was possibly even sympathy. “I know.”

Peeta had to do a double take. “Wait, what?” There was no way she knew what had happened to him and Cato, was there?

“You’re gay.”

It wasn’t what he’d expected Katniss to say but it was still a surprise and for a few moments, Peeta was rooted to the spot with a blank expression on his face. Panic raced through him as he tried to think what Cato would do in this situation and before he knew it he was responding in a harsh voice, “I’m not queer!”

Katniss’ sympathetic look didn’t disappear. “It’s okay, I won’t judge you for it. Other stuff, sure, but being gay… there’s nothing wrong with admitting it,” she continued, her tone surprisingly soft considering how angry she’d been just a few moments before. Peeta wasn’t sure what to say.

“Wh-- why do you think that?” he asked, trying to stay as calm as possible. Hell, he didn’t even know if Cato was gay but his _thing_ with Gale, whatever it was, had definitely made Peeta doubt he was straight. Still, he doubted that Cato wanted one of his sworn enemies to know the truth if he really was gay.

“I know about you and Gale,” Katniss confessed, looking surprisingly guilty, “I saw you two in the park and made Gale tell me what was going on.” She let out a sigh and shook her head. “It’s none of my business, forget it.”

Suddenly Peeta didn’t want her to stop speaking. “Me and Gale?” he asked, his lips curving into a frown. “You know about… me and Gale?”

“I know you need to get over him.” Katniss’ voice was challenging again, her walls rebuilding by the second. “Stop going after Peeta. Gale’s moved on and so should you.”

Peeta had stopped listening by then though. His mind had finally caught up to her words, processing everything she’d just told him.

Cato and Gale had been an item even before Cato had switched bodies with Peeta.

Suddenly Cato’s reluctance to help switch them back made a lot more sense: he was using Peeta’s body to get back with Gale without the other ever knowing and he’d kept it a secret from both Peeta and Gale all along. Cato’s claims of breaking up with Gale just a day before started to sound false in Peeta’s ears and he could feel his blood boiling as his mind took one step further –

Had Cato caused the body switch in the first place? After all, everything was working out so conveniently for him and Peeta was the one left in the dirt by it all. Before he could even think straight, Peeta pulled out his phone and fired a message Cato’s way.

 

**_Peeta_** _to **Cato:**_ _I know what you did._

 

He was going to kill the other boy.


	6. Four Months Later (Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of things change over time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's pretty clear that I lost all muse for this fic but I hate leaving things open-ended so here's a little something to wrap things up.

"I ache all over," Cato groaned, resting his head against Peeta's chest, "Especially my ass."

"And who's fault in that, huh?" Peeta asked, chuckling softly. "I mean, if you wanted to be the top maybe you should have thought about that before stealing my body." It wasn't accusatory, not like it used to have been. It was a well known fact that Cato had caused their initial switch and he had done it out of jealousy and carelessness. Peeta understood that now and he'd let his anger go. Honestly he was at peace with the whole situation. Sure, things were still a little awkward with Gale but they were getting there.

The confrontation that had followed Katniss' revelation about Cato and Gale's past had led to Cato admitting his part in the switch. He had stolen one of his father's inventions, a device that was still in testing at District 2 Tech, and had used it on Peeta in a desperate chance to win Gale back. He was making foolish decisions in the name of love, it was understandable. Besides Peeta knew that they never would have made it to this happy ending had Cato not done what he'd done.

Finding another test device was easier said than done. The one Cato had used on them had broken during the switch and furious that one of his inventions had been stolen, Cato's father increased security around his company's test areas. It took weeks of planning for Peeta to fool Cato's father and grab one of the devices from the laboratory. When he got it though, they both discovered that they were reluctant to use it. By that point Cato had broken things off with Gale and had even managed to convince Principal Snow to allow Peeta back onto the football team. Things were looking as normal as they could be.

"I actually enjoy football, you know," Peeta mused.

"I like not having to pretend to be cool all the time," Cato agreed.

So they stayed in each other's bodies for another week. Then another. And another.

More than a few heads had turned when Peeta brought Cato along to a house party he'd been invited to. They heard all the whispers ( _"Why did Cato bring a nerd with him? Ugh, is he a fag?"_ ) and they couldn't give a damn. Glimmer looked at him as if he was the devil and honestly Peeta loved it. Anything to get her off his back.

That night ended with them falling into bed together for the first time. They were drunk and horny and neither of them wanted to stop. Peeta lubed up his fingers and started to prep the other boy's hole for his cock. Cato begged him not to stop so he didn't, not until his cock was deep inside the other and he hit his climax. They passed out with Cato spread out across Peeta's larger body that night, still drunkenly giggling about what they had allowed to happen.

After that a relationship developed quite naturally as the question about switching back dropped away. They'd gotten quite used to their new lifes. Sure there were moments where Peeta missed his family or Cato missed playing sports but they found themselves feeling comfortable with who they were now. When they came out at school as a couple there were more than a few people who looked at Peeta as if he was the devil but he didn't give a damn. Much to his surprise even Thresh and Marvel stood by him. Katniss pulled him aside and whispered a threat to kill him if he ever treated 'Peeta' badly which had made him grin. He'd never known people cared so much.

The sex was incredible. There was really no denying that. Peeta found himself coming into his own as a dominant top and Cato allowed himself to submit so easily. They fucked wherever they could and without hesitation. In the locker room at school, on the pool table in Cato's house, even on the balcony overlooking their yard. Peeta had never known that it was possible to have this much sex in such a short space of time but he certainly wasn't complaining. It felt incredible.

Four months later and graduation loomed on the horizon. It had been a long time coming. Prom had been one of the best nights of their life and Peeta even found himself crowned Prom King which had bemused them both greatly. For his merit Cato didn't seem to miss the popularity at all. He liked living under the radar, surrounded only by those who appreciated him for who he actually was rather than who his family were. They were both a little nervous about what was to come once they left high school but hey, if they could survive this then what couldn't they take on?


End file.
